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The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
The insightful martial arts biography of Yamoaka Tesshu, the larger-than-life samurai who founded his own school of swordsmanship and helped restore practical imperial rule to Japan
Master swordsman, calligrapher, and Zen practitioner, Yamoaka Tesshu is a seminal figure in martial arts history. John Stevens’s biography is a fascinating, detailed account of Tesshu’s remarkable life. From Tesshu’s superhuman feats of endurance and keen perception in life-threatening situations, to his skillful handling of military affairs during the politically volatile era of early nineteenth-century Japan, Stevens recounts the stories that have made Tesshu a legend. This is the book all martial artists must own.
Master swordsman, calligrapher, and Zen practitioner, Yamoaka Tesshu is a seminal figure in martial arts history. John Stevens’s biography is a fascinating, detailed account of Tesshu’s remarkable life. From Tesshu’s superhuman feats of endurance and keen perception in life-threatening situations, to his skillful handling of military affairs during the politically volatile era of early nineteenth-century Japan, Stevens recounts the stories that have made Tesshu a legend. This is the book all martial artists must own.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
John Stevens
85 books30 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Stevens (1947- ) is a Buddhist priest and Aikido teacher.
John Stevens (1947- ) is a Buddhist priest and Aikido teacher.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 3, 2017
This is about the only comprehensive biography of 'the last sword saint', Yamaoka Tesshu available in the English language.
The author, a highly dedicated and intelligent man, researched for 10 years to write it.
Sadly, he had an agenda (he always does), and carefully built a book around it. He has this platonic perfect ideal of a Warrior Sage, and does his level best to make flawed but skilled mortals like Ueshiba Morihei and Yamaoka Tesshu fit into it. Knowing something about the life of Ueshiba Morihei and how much John Stevens conveniently skipped or wrested into a more platonic ideal light, I can't help wondering what Mr. Stevens left out of this one.
Of course, he included a lot of good things, too. Stories and anecdotes from the life of Tesshu, examples of some of his best calligraphy and explanations of why they are good, and most valuable of all, a section at the end of Tesshu's writings on the way of the sword. Those writings gave me so very much to think about!
Tesshu was a fascinating man. Impulsive, easily addicted, with a high natural level of empathy and a low level of self-preservation. Watching this flawed giant oddball of a man trying to beat his body and soul into Enlightenment was very interesting.
Still....How did Tesshu, in an Edo period where so many of the martial arts had become either all show or all sport, find the true, beating, ancient heart of real combat? Mr. Stevens doesn't tell us. How did Tesshu go from penniless ragged young husband and father to personal guard and adviser of the shogun (The. Shogun!)? Mr. Stevens doesn't tell us - not even what year it occurred. How did he come to then accept a position in the Meiji emperor's guard, and what kind of policies did he advise him in? Mr. Stevens doesn't say, because he doesn't care. How many children did Tesshu have, and what was his family life like? What influences -- beyond zen -- does his calligraphy show? How did he react to a changing Japan? How did he impact politics, and what were his political beliefs? What kind of daily sword practice did he do?
I wish I knew.
As a biography, it's sorely lacking. The author is a devout Buddhist and serious martial art practitioner (Aikido, not sword, so he doesn't seem to care much about things only applicable to the sword) -- anything that falls outside of that is uninteresting to him. This is not a documentary, a biography. This is a story, a carefully curated portrait of a Zen Patriarch, and so anything that doesn't have much bearing on the Zen (either meditation, temple-building, in calligraphy, in a funky thing Tesshu said, or in sword-work) ... doesn't make the cut.
Still worth the purchase price just for the writings of Yamaoka Tesshu in the last 20 or so pages.
The author, a highly dedicated and intelligent man, researched for 10 years to write it.
Sadly, he had an agenda (he always does), and carefully built a book around it. He has this platonic perfect ideal of a Warrior Sage, and does his level best to make flawed but skilled mortals like Ueshiba Morihei and Yamaoka Tesshu fit into it. Knowing something about the life of Ueshiba Morihei and how much John Stevens conveniently skipped or wrested into a more platonic ideal light, I can't help wondering what Mr. Stevens left out of this one.
Of course, he included a lot of good things, too. Stories and anecdotes from the life of Tesshu, examples of some of his best calligraphy and explanations of why they are good, and most valuable of all, a section at the end of Tesshu's writings on the way of the sword. Those writings gave me so very much to think about!
Tesshu was a fascinating man. Impulsive, easily addicted, with a high natural level of empathy and a low level of self-preservation. Watching this flawed giant oddball of a man trying to beat his body and soul into Enlightenment was very interesting.
Still....How did Tesshu, in an Edo period where so many of the martial arts had become either all show or all sport, find the true, beating, ancient heart of real combat? Mr. Stevens doesn't tell us. How did Tesshu go from penniless ragged young husband and father to personal guard and adviser of the shogun (The. Shogun!)? Mr. Stevens doesn't tell us - not even what year it occurred. How did he come to then accept a position in the Meiji emperor's guard, and what kind of policies did he advise him in? Mr. Stevens doesn't say, because he doesn't care. How many children did Tesshu have, and what was his family life like? What influences -- beyond zen -- does his calligraphy show? How did he react to a changing Japan? How did he impact politics, and what were his political beliefs? What kind of daily sword practice did he do?
I wish I knew.
As a biography, it's sorely lacking. The author is a devout Buddhist and serious martial art practitioner (Aikido, not sword, so he doesn't seem to care much about things only applicable to the sword) -- anything that falls outside of that is uninteresting to him. This is not a documentary, a biography. This is a story, a carefully curated portrait of a Zen Patriarch, and so anything that doesn't have much bearing on the Zen (either meditation, temple-building, in calligraphy, in a funky thing Tesshu said, or in sword-work) ... doesn't make the cut.
Still worth the purchase price just for the writings of Yamaoka Tesshu in the last 20 or so pages.
January 9, 2021
Incredible book about Tesshu, his life and wisdom. Very humanistic depiction of master’s personality. He was a very special martial artist.
March 29, 2024
Ha kevésbé lett volna csapongó a szerző, és a realitás talaján állt volna, akkor ez a könyv is jobb lett volna. (csak ez a sok "volna" ne lett volna...)
October 6, 2011
I rated this book as highly as I did mainly for the subject matter and the liberal presentation of original sources. Yamaoka Tesshu was a fascinating person--he helped lead Japan into the modern age and put an end to the samurai as a class, yet was a proud upholder of samurai tradition. He was widely regarded as one of the finest swordsmen who ever lived, founding the Muto Ryu (the "no-sword" school) yet embodied the principle of swordsmanship as just another path, not to martial skill, but to enlightenment. A master swordsman and calligrapher who was a close advisor to the Meiji emperor, he lived in poverty most of his life by choice, giving away whatever money he had to people whose need he considered greater.
The biographical material as presented is mostly sketched broadly and is heavily dependent on a collection of anecdotes. I'd really love to see a proper biography one day by someone not quite so enamored of his subject, but taken for what it is, this is a worthy book. I do love the numerous reproductions of original text and the multitude of examples Master Tesshu's calligraphy, which is worth the price of admission alone.
The biographical material as presented is mostly sketched broadly and is heavily dependent on a collection of anecdotes. I'd really love to see a proper biography one day by someone not quite so enamored of his subject, but taken for what it is, this is a worthy book. I do love the numerous reproductions of original text and the multitude of examples Master Tesshu's calligraphy, which is worth the price of admission alone.
December 9, 2021
The history of his life is so insane I have a hard time taking it all as fact, so I didn’t. I’m just assuming a lot of it has been expanded on through the years. Still, it’s REALLY entertaining. He’d be a blast to watch in a movie. His actual principles seem both really basic and hard to figure out, so despite reading all of it I’m not 100% sure I actually know what he wanted me to know? Is it just not acknowledging anything that can get in the way of the mind?
July 29, 2022
"The book of no value" lol.
White writers really take up any piece of oriental history and culture and turn them into a mindless amalgamation with their half-baked sense and understanding of eastern "philosophy and spirituality".
What a load of BS was this reading experience!
White writers really take up any piece of oriental history and culture and turn them into a mindless amalgamation with their half-baked sense and understanding of eastern "philosophy and spirituality".
What a load of BS was this reading experience!
May 28, 2017
This was far more of a hagiography than a biography and no sources are cited for any of it.
December 30, 2019
An excellent book about an artist, philosopher, spiritualist, and Samurai.
Many great quotes, which I've also come across in other areas of my life
Many great quotes, which I've also come across in other areas of my life
September 7, 2023
Particularly enjoyed Tesshu’s calligraphy and writings at the end.
August 10, 2011
The guy was a calligrapher who also happened to be a master with the sword. I like the thought he leaves with us: "Where are you now? Climb the treasure mountain and do not return empty-handed."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews